Naruto, Come Back!
by Tenerezza
Summary: Sakura had been sad since the death of both her teammates, until she met a girl who resembles Naruto performing Sexy no Jutsu. SPOILER WARNING: the story is based on what happened after the manga episode 476
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own the Naruto Universe. The statement above is false**

**Author note: Although I had tried to explain as much as possible, if you wish to understand the story better, please read until manga chapter 476. This story is based on what happened after it. Mind you, I am a 13-year-old teen whose English isn't her first language and this story is my first attempt to write a fan fiction. So please review and tell me if something's wrong with my grammar.  
**

***Madara***

Sasuke's fight with Danzou had almost been too easy for him, he thought as he watched Sasuke smirking over his overconfident enemy's lifeless body. The temporary hokage's implantation of sharingans in his right arm was an insult to those he gained from, but he rarely ever used it, which was his big mistake. Even he, the most powerful of all Uchihas need some time to get used to the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"So what should we do now?" Sasuke's cold voice reached his ears.

"We shall proceed to the Moon Eye's plan," said Madara, "You know what to do."

" 'Capture the kyuubi, and simultaneously verify our Uchiha clan's being.' " Sasuke recited.

"Exactly" Madara sounded sastified.

"Erm... What about the Suigetsu and Juugo?" squeaked Karin timidly as she approached Sasuke.

"Just leave them to be." Karin recoiled at Sasuke's coldness.

***Sasuke***

He looked up at the gloomy sky, thinking of his dear brother, Itachi. He hoped that he had not been so mad about killing him for revenge. Then he might have found out that he didn't wipe out the Uchiha clan just to measure his powers. It was one of these petty peace lovers that _used_ him, that _drove_ him to do what he did just to enjoy peace, Sasuke thought angrily while looking down at Danzou's dead body. Although his clan wasn't entirely right for trying to start a war just to avenge the Senjus when they overidden them during the foundation of Konoha, Sasuke still can't forgive the elders. His family was just too precious for him. It was when Madara told him the truth that he relized how much his elder brother had loved him so much that he couldn't kill him when he murdered even his parents. A deep sadness overwhelmed him. He craved for Itachi's brotherly love.

He felt just like his brother. The disgraced man weighed Sasuke more than Konoha. Now he weighed Itachi more than Konoha, and he was going to get revenge for him, and the entire clan, despite the reason he died in the first place.


	2. Chapter 1: Worst Reunion

**Disclaimer: I own the Naruto Universe. If I am Masashi Kishimoto, that is.**

***Naruto***

After fainting in the Land of Iron, Naruto was left resting in a room. He insisted on finding Sakura with them, but Kakashi-sensei managed convince him to stay. _And_ leaving Yamato-taichou with him to watch over the kyuubi host.

"_Do you know what causes hyperventilation, Naruto? Stress and anxiety. Unless you have stroke or some lung diseases. So don't stress yourself up again. It's no use if you keep fainting." _said Kakashi as though coaxing a child. _"And Tenzo will protect you if anything happens." _Yamato winced.

"_As though I need looking after, I'm not a toddler. And why did you call Yamato-taichou Tenzo?" _He wondered if Sakura hammered the information about the hyper-thing into Kakashi's head. He didn't know that one of Kakashi's teammate, Rin was too a medical ninja. When he over breathed and passed out after thinking too much about Sasuke, the white fang's son had emptied his weapon pouch and covered it over Naruto's mouth to increase the amount of carbon dioxide in his blood. Naruto felt embarrased as it made him look like throwing up.

Kakashi ignored his question._ "You are being hunted down, Naruto. Just stay here and be good. Sai, take me to Sakura, then disperse before she finds out and land a punch on you." _

Naruto recalled his moment with Kakashi before he left with Sai's ink clone. He felt angry with himself. Now you can't do anything, because you hyper-what-ever-it-was, he thought grumpily.

Yamato wasn't doing much good in comforting Naruto either. He had tried to make Naruto put Sasuke off his mind without any success in the past half hour. Even worse, he had made him think more about him. It seems that the only way is to let go of him. But how?

"Do you mind another chat, Naruto?" A voice floated down from above. "This time with a little action."

Naruto jumped, and looked up. Right in the middle of the hole he created on the roof earlier that day, stood, to his horror, is Uchiha Madara. Right next to him is what made him yell. "Sasuke!"

***Sasuke***

Sasuke looked down at Naruto's stunned expression. He felt uneasy at the look on his face. Although he had promised Madara to help in his Moon Eye plan, he still felt a pang of guilt when it came to capturing Naruto. He _was_ his best friend after all. But it doesn't matter anymore. Who needs friend when you have a powerful ancestor with you?


	3. Chapter 2: Last Battle

**Disclaimer: I own the Naruto Universe. If I am Seishi Kishimoto's twin brother, that is.**

Naruto was hiding behind a tree, still coughing blood. The pain was unbearable. The recently restored seal wasn't helping much as it makes it harder for the fox to heal him. He still couldn't believe that it was Sasuke who had left none of his body unscarred. Yamato managed to make a forest out of nowhere as an obstacle for both the Uchihas and a temporally hideout for Naruto. Unfortunately his chakra ran out and was knocked out cold after a few attempts to let Naruto escape.

Sasuke was bad enough without Madara popping up right next to Naruto each time he tried to hide. He suspected that they might have a chakra-sensor with them. His is tired of this never-ending hide-and-seek. He daren't use his signature move, the Rasenshurinken as it won't work on Madara and it might hurt Sasuke. It might as well as cleared the forest and leave him in the open. He sensed that his Sage chakra is running out. He had to end this fight. Fast.

He gave signal to his clones to start performing the kinjutsu. _Sorry, Jiraiya. I had to ignore your warning._**(Jiraiya told him not to use "that" before he went to save Gaara)**_ This time the jutsu is going to be a decoy, or maybe to buy some time, not to suck down the whole village._ But he was still unsure whether he will survive after the jutsu. It might be better if I died, thought Naruto. At least the ten-tailed beast will never be revived, and that will put an end to Madara's plan. Jin, Tatsu, Hitsuji, Ushi, after performing the hand seals in unison with his clones, he gathered chakra in his hand and pressed it against the ground. A distant rumbling was heard…

*****

"That's funny, I picked up his scent, then lost it again" groaned Kiba. Sakura was impatient and slightly worried. If they don't find Sasuke soon, Naruto and the others are bound to find out the truth and come to stop her. She _had_ to kill him herself, to relieve the pain of seeing him plummeting towards the darkness and prevent herself from blaming Konoha if the ANBUs get him first. The last thing she wants is a very determined Naruto blocking her way.

The one who came to stop her, however, was Kakashi. Sai was the only one who didn't looked surprised.

"Sakura-" His words was cut short by a deafening rumble. "What was that?" Sakura wondered aloud, glad for a reason not to speak to her jonin-teacher.

"We'd better check it out," said Lee, trying to change the topic.

"Oh well." Kakashi was relieved that he still have time to think about the speech he was going to give to Sakura. In his opinion, it wasn't very convincing.

Together, Kakashi, Sakura, Sai, Rock Lee and Kiba moved towards the source of the sound. The rumbling seemed to come from under their feet, which reminded them of earthquakes. As the rumbling turned into a water lapping sound, they found themselves in a forest which didn't belong there. The Land of Iron is supposed to be a snowing country, but the forest feels hot, and the snow surrounding it is melting.

Suddenly, as abruptly as it started, it stopped, with a funny sound of draining water echoing through the forest.

Then a yell filled the air, "Naruto, where are you! Respond!"

Kakashi's heart sank. Did they find Naruto so quickly? It might be one of his pranks to scare Yamato out of his wits, or he just went out for a walk. But his hopes was not high.

"Yamato-taichou! What happened?" Sakura demanded as soon as they caught up with worn-out ninja. He was staring down at an extremely large crater which reminded Sakura of the damage Naruto made near the Tenchi bridge. Kakashi's heart jolted. _Not that jutsu?_

Tenzo looked up and found himself looking straight into Kakashi's panic filled eyes. He nodded gravely.

The five-man team gasped as they looked down into the dented surface. It was similar to the crater created by Naruto in the four-tailed form, but instead of a rough surface, the crater looked as though filled with fine damp earth and traces of magma that are arranged neatly to represent a whirlpool. An intense heat rose from it.

"We had to find Naruto. Fast." Commanded Kakashi.

"Why, could he be sucked down by this, erm, whirlpool?" Kiba asked.

"He could. And we have to confirm whether he did or not."


	4. Chapter 3: Lost Forever

**Disclaimer: I'll own Naruto if the author gives me the copyright. Unfortunately he didn't**

The Konoha ninjas had exausted themselves in the fruitless attempt to find Naruto. Sai's ink owl had come back without news, both Pakkun and Akamaru did not succeed in relocating Naruto's track and Rock Lee nearly got a cramp and a sore throat for running around yelling Naruto's name. All the five kages were informed but they still don't have any idea where the kyuubi host is. They were relieved as they have just found a safe spot for the hachibi host to hide, but anxiety rose again upon hearing the information. They drew two conclusions based on Kakashi's explaination. One, Madara caught him while he tried to escape. Two, Death caught him after he performed the jutsu.

Sakura was the only one who refused to give up on the search for his teammate. The night was closing in, and all ninjas crave for a break, but the pink haired kunoichi was restless, trying to think of a way to find her lost comrade. _Looks like you got Naruto's determination,_ mused Kakashi, _and his temper_.

Suddenly, the white fang's son jolted as he felt a disturbance in the air. As expected, Tobi solidified out of nowhere right next to him. This time, with everyone on alert, he didn't go unnoticed.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO NA-RU-TO!!!!!" She stressed each syllable of Naruto's name while charging at Tobi, attempting to aim a punch at him. Madara dodged without any effort, Sakura nearly got Kakashi who held her off at the nick of time, and both of them lost their balance. Luckily Madara wasn't in the mood to fight back.

"Looks like you haven't found that bastard either." His angry voice, barely above a whisper, was heard behind his mask.

Sakura was relieved at the news. _That's it. _She thought. _I knew you won't get caught._ But she panicked again at the thought of the second conclusion. _No. Impossible._ She shook away the thought firmly. _He'll never be killed that easily. _

"Where is Naruto?" Kankurou demanded. The other kages closed in menacingly.

"If you guys didn't find him, it must mean," he paused, and continued through clenched teeth, "Well, you know what I mean."

Sakura gasped. Everyone was just stunned. _Oh well. Thanks for meddling up Madara's plan._ Kakashi thought grimly.

"And you know what?" he added. "that useless Sasuke and his _companion_ fell into the jutsu, so you can stop looking for him. At least I still got Kisame. Although there's no point to continue the plan now. " Madara was still talking, oblivious that everyone was threatening to have him captured.

"Kisame is dead." Yamato replied, eying Sakura uneasily. She stood rooted to the spot, motionless. Two death at once is quite a big hit for a girl, he thought.

"Fine then." Madara seems more frustrated than ever, "I'm just here to tell you that I won't give up on the Moon Eye Plan that easily, not until I see Naruto's body." The lone Akatsuki member dodged yet another silent attack, and retreated up a tree.

"That's all for today then." Tobi was going to disappear when finally, Sakura blurted out, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN! SASUKE'S DEAD? WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE HIM? WHY! Why…" she then fell to her knees and reduced to tears, with Sai trying to comfort her and everyone staring.

The coldness of the voice pierced through her like a sword. It's so simple, so simple that it still hurts Sakura, even after many years later.

"Why not?"

******

Sakura dissolved into tears once again when she reached the Land of Fire after what seems to be ages. The news of Naruto's death spread like wild fire after they reached Konoha. No one could believe that their hero died from his own jutsu. Hinata wailed and passed out right in front of her father upon hearing it, and everyone tried to question the five-man team for the truth. Sakura managed to avoid everybody with her glare and went straight to her bedroom. The distressed kunoichi clutched her pillow and cried as much as she wanted, letting out her feelings. Sasuke was gone, now Naruto too... . He had been her moral support when her lover went after power, and he was her only hope for Sasuke to come back. He even saved her life from the once evil Gaara. And what did she give him? Nothing. _I can't stop Sasuke, and I did nothing to Naruto, I only made him suffer...I'm so useless..._

After spending some time thinking about her dearest teammates, she realized something. Her feelings towards Sasuke is admiration. Her feelings towards Naruto, however…was that love?


	5. Chapter 4: Memories of Naruto

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Sakura yawned and stretched her arms. She was wondering why she had managed to wake up at 5 in the morning. It was when she took her breakfast that it occurred to her. Today she, Kakashi, and Sai are going on a mission to Sunagakure.

Although the situation should be serious, Tsunade and Shizune weren't exactly awake either, thought Sakura as she watched her sleepy master giving a brief speech before they take off. Sakura recalled the moment Tsunade woke up from the coma five years ago. She was in quite a dilemma. She didn't know whether to be glad of Naruto's defeat of Pain, or to be sad of his death. Sakura had never seen her so down since Jiraiya passed on, as she sort of blamed herself about something that even she, her apprentice didn't know.

"As you know, there is something going on in the Land of Wind, presumably poisonings, and you must reach there as fast as possible to find the cause of the it and treat the sick…" Tsunade droned on and on. Sakura barely managed not to fall asleep in front of her master, although she knew the consequences if she did. She didn't know whether she'll be spared as she is her apprentice, or not as_ she is her apprentice who_ _did not_ give a good example to others.

Finally, they took off. With the remaining members of Team 7, Hatake Kakashi and Sai (who was finally free after the disbanding of root as Danzou died), Sakura headed towards Sunakagure.

******

When the sun was properly up, Sakura realized that six years ago, they had used the same route to reach Sunakagure. The trees, the earth, everything looks the same. But they don't feel quite the same. Without the zealous blonde, everything seems so hollow and quiet. She still remembers the spot where they have forced Naruto to rest on their way to save Gaara, along with the late Chiyo and his Jonin-sensei. She, too recalled the hideout of the currently disbanded organization Akatsuki, and remembered how angry Naruto was when he found Gaara dead as they broke in. The image of his comrade's sad face when she told him that it was too late to save the shukaku host, and his relieved expression when Gaara was revived remained crystal clear in her mind although six long years has passed. Tears sparkled in her eyes when she thought of these memories. She quickly rubbed her eyes dry hoping that none of her teammates noticed it.

******

Kakashi _did_ notice it, although he didn't bother to point it out. He still doubts whether Tsunade's choice to let Sakura involved in this mission was right. His thought of Tsunade reminds him of Naruto, who reminds him of the Fourth, who reminds him of his sacrificed comrades during the Third Great Shinobi World War…

******

_Rin was peeking through a hole in the door leading to Namikaze Minato's study room. The fourteen-year-old Kakashi could not understand why Rin was so interested in the red-haired woman who came to visit their Jonin-sensei. He leaned onto the wall and watched the excited kunoichi grinning. He sighed. Maybe Rin's idea of visiting Minato-sensei weekly wasn't such a good idea after all._

"_Ooh, they are discussing something over the table. Sensei had put his favourite book on it." Rin whispered. "I've never seen sensei invite a woman to his study room."_

_Suddenly, she squealed, "Kakashi! Look! I think she is pregnant!"_

_His heart jolted. Pregnant? He looked into the hole Rin offered him and indeed he saw Minato laying his hand over a bump on the woman's belly. It was too large to be just fat. Both of them looked at it with loving expression._

"_Sensei's going to have a baby! I hoped Obito could see this!" Rin squeaked happily. He just stared in awe. A baby…_

_******_

_Chaos. A giant chakra beast had attacked the village. It simply has too many tails, and with a roar and a swipe of its tail everything was flattened._

"_Rin! Where are you going?!" Kakashi yelled through the panicked crowd._

"_Kushina told me to hand the baby over to sensei! Just born!" Rin yelled back while running towards the beast with a bundle clutched in her hands._

"_No! Let me handle it!" Kakashi tried to help, but the crowd pushed him away from his teammate._

"_It's alright! I'll be fine, go and help Kushina!" Rin's voice echoed through the crowd._

_Kakashi immediately rushed to the hospital. At the entrance, a bleeding woman was staggering out of the white building._

"_Kushina! What are you doing?" Kakashi asked urgently. The weakened kunoichi looked up at him._

"_Take me to Minato. Quick."_

"_No! You must rest! You just gave birth –"_

"_Don't bother about me! I can help defeat the nine-tails!"_

_After a few moments of bickering, Kakashi lost. He carried Kushina right to the scene. Dead bodies was scattered everywhere. Right in front of the beast is the Toad Boss. The forth was already fighting bravely. In his hand there was a bundle._

"_MINATO! I'LL DO THE JUTSU TO HOLD IT! SEAL THE FOX!" Kushina bellowed as soon as they were near enough._

_The Hokage looked down wearily, he knew there's no use to argue with the determined woman. "FINE, BE QUICK!"_

"_Kakashi, take Rin and get out of here." She said, "Now!"_

_The white fang's son didn't need telling twice. He ran around yelling her name in vain. Suddenly, among the dead bodies, he spotted a familiar face…_

"_Rin!" he ran towards her. She had stopped breathing. Her body was covered with terrible red glowing scars. Despite that she is no longer alive, Kakashi took her body to safety, unable to stop the urge to cry. He looked back at the fox with pure hatred._

_Suddenly, with a horrible roar, the fox was sealed._

******

"Kakashi, should we rest now?" a feminine voice pulled him back to reality. Kakashi looked around. Night was already closing in, it was too dark to keep going. "Alright then, let's camp here for the day."

**Author note: Yeah I know. Mostly memories. Just kind of ran out of ideas and I thought this memory about how Rin and Kushina died is good so I wrote it down. Good part coming up next chapter!**

**Reminder: This story is based on what happened after manga episode 476. I wanted a bit of suspense so forgive me if you're lost. Everything will be explained in the story.**


	6. Chapter 5: Naoko or Naruto?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

Three days had passed since Kakashi, Sai and Sakura left Konohagakure for Sunakagure. As soon as they reached the gates of the Hidden Sand Village, a group of ninjas came to welcome them. The late Chiyo's brother, Ebizo greeted Kakashi, "Welcome back again. I hope that –"

While Kakashi and the Sand elder are greeting each other, Sakura looked around at the ninjas behind Ebizo. At the first glance, Sakura noticed a pair of familiar piercing blue eyes. "Naruto!" she gave a small yelp. Luckily only Sai seems to hear her. "What Naruto?" She pointed at the eyes, but the second glance made her heart sank. "Oh, nothing." She said embarrassedly. The owner of the lively eyes is not Naruto. The ninja has flowing waist length red hair instead of spiky blonde hair, and furthermore, she's _female_.

"Put him off your mind, we're on a mission, not on a Naruto hunt." Sai whispered back. But Sakura can't tear her eyes off the girl. The more Sakura looked at her, the more she noticed how beautiful she is. The red-headed girl was a black-robed kunoichi who seems a little younger than she was, and even under her chunin flak jacket, it was conspicuous that her body was in a _perfect_ shape. She reminded her strongly of Naruto's Sexy no Jutsu. _Hey, why am I thinking about Naruto?_

Finally, they finished talking and the ninjas leaded them inside a very packed hospital. The patients seem numbed and immobile. "According to the medical reports, each of them have a faint trace of poison in their body." explained Ebizo, handing over the report for Sakura. She nodded and had a look at the paper. After a while, she realized that something was wrong.

"The description of the poison is exactly the properties of the poison used on Sasori's puppets!" she exclaimed. She checked the properties again. Colourless, deadly and oil-like. Her sharp memory reminded her of the poison Kankurou suffered from the last time she visited Sunakagure. The only difference was the patients only got mild poison, and did not die after three days.

"Exactly. That's why we summoned only Konoha medical ninjas. You still remember how to make the antidote, don't you?" whispered Ebizo worriedly.

"Yes, but why didn't you mention it to Tsunade? She didn't tell me anything about Sasori." questioned Sakura.

"There might be someone behind this and we didn't want the culprit to know what we found out."

"Yeah, I see. Please lead me to the medicine storehouse. I will make the antidote immediately. " She half-expected Ebizo to leave with her straight away. But he didn't.

"The ninja in charge will lead you there." Ebizo then turned to the gang of ninjas following him. " Naoko, lead Haruno Sakura to the medicine storehouse!"

"Yes, Ebizo-jiisama. Come on, Haruno!" Sakura turned around in surprise. The red-haired kunoichi beckoned her from the other side of the hospital. She had not expected the girl to be in charge. How old was she? 19, maybe. Nevertheless, she followed her out into the scorching heat.

******

Kakashi looked at the silhouettes of the kunoichis heading towards a patch of greenery in the dessert country. _The hair, the eyes and the behavior, exactly like a miniature Uzumaki Kushina,_ thought the white-haired ninja.

******

Both the kunoichis were in the green house, with Naoko handing over the ingredients for Sakura to make the antidote. She watched in awe as the medical ninja skillfully pounded the selected herbs into powder (not with hands, of course) and mixed them with fixed ratio. After a few moments, Naoko broke the silence.

"You yelped 'Naruto' when you saw me back at the gate." She said. "Why?"

_So you_ did_ hear me, good pretending skills. _She thought. "Well, Naruto was my teammate, and you resembled him somehow." Sakura tried to change the subject, not wanting to discuss Naruto with someone whom she had mistaken as him. "So you're Naoko?"

"Yes."

"What's your surname?"

"I don't have one, I'm just Naoko."

"Oh," Sakura felt embarrassed again. She had forgotten that not everyone has surnames.

"How do I resemble him?" asked Naoko curiously, bringing up the topic again, oblivious to Sakura's attempt not to talk about it.

Sakura sighed. She not only looked like him, but she also _spoke_ like him, not understanding other's hidden meaning in their words. She recalled the time when Naruto had just came back from training, and she had asked him about her new clothes.

"_How do I look? Do I look more like a woman now?"_

"_You look fine! You haven't changed at all!"_

He was lucky that he didn't get a punch at that time, but he later, he did.

"I don't know, it just popped up in my mind." lied Sakura, turning away from her to get the ingredients Naoko laid out on the side table.

"So you've been here before?"

Sakura looked at her with a surprised expression, "Sasori got Kankurou six years ago and I came here to heal him! I thought it was quite a big news in Sunakagure?"

"Well, I kind of lost my memory some time ago, so I can't remember anything that had happened here." She said sadly.

"Oh, sorry." Sakura pitied her, but she didn't know how to make up for her mistake, so she decided to keep silent. Luckily Naoko didn't seem to mind.

"It's fine,"

"Thanks, there, the antidote's done." She held up a small bottle of liquid.

"That's all?" Naoko eyed the so-called-antidote suspiciously.

"You'll need tender herbs to make it, so I guess we have to wait for the new ones to grow." Sakura looked at the plants. "Anyway, you have to dilute it in water, so this is enough for half of the patients already."

"Great! Let's tell Ebizo-jiisama about the good news! Dattebayo!" Naoko punched into the air, and headed towards the door.

Sakura nearly dropped the antidote.

**Author Note: How do you think about the name Naoko? I'm not familiar with Japanese names so I looked up on Wikipedia and found this name - 尚子. Although I didn't like names that ends with "ko" or "mi", this seems to be an exception. I've tried Arashi, Nozomi and Keiko, but Naoko's the best, I think. It sounds like Naruto too. haha**


	7. Chapter 6: Mysteries Unvieled

After giving out the antidotes to patients with more serious cases, Sakura ate her dinner quickly without much talk and went straight to her room. The kunoichi flung herself onto the bed and started to think.

She was still shaken after the incident that happened the previous day. _Naoko is Naruto? Impossible! Naruto was dead!_

_But his body wasn't found,_ whispered her inner self.

_Well, I can't deny that fact, but he can't be, he just can't be, I'm missing him too much, I'm just making things up…_

_Let's see, she has same eyes, same catchphrase, lost her memory, and what more evidence do you want to prove that she is Naruto?_

_Loads of people have blue eyes, and I'm sure her catchphrase was just a coincidence…_

_Come to think about it, she, or rather, he, _Sakura's inner self smirked nastily, _is right-handed too – _

_She isn't! She simply isn't! If she is, then why didn't he tell me? I'm her friend! I cared about him! And Sai said he loves me! _Sakura buried her head under a pillow and started to cry. _Why am I thinking so much about Naruto? _

_Cause he's your best friend? Now if you don't believe me, observe her, pretend to be her friend, then question her. Somehow the truth will come out…_

_Fine, I'll confirm her identity, and then I'll prove you wrong!_

_We'll see who's wrong at the end –_

A worried knock on the door was heard. "Sakura?" Kakashi's voice was heard behind the doors. "May I come in?"

"No," Sakura answered with a dull and muffled tone. She was still having the pillow over her head, determined not to let her jonin sensei see her crying.

Kakashi came in anyway, despite the risk of being thrown out mercilessly.

"Sakura, what happened?" he asked as casually as he could. "You didn't seem right after-"

"I'M FINE!" Sakura yelled as loud as she could under the pillow. Then, without warning, she broke into sobs again.

Kakashi decided to go straight to the point. He did a quick seal on the door and any window he could find, and sat down beside her. He waited for any signs of the kunoichi wanting to sweep him off the bed. There wasn't any.

"Sakura, you're thinking about Naruto, right?"

No reply came. Kakashi took that as a yes.

"You think that Naoko has some resemblance to him?"

Sakura couldn't hold back any longer. She finally emerged from under her pillow, and confessed everything she thought, hoping that Kakashi might make her feel better.

"I see, there is a reasonable reason to suspect her. But I can tell you she isn't."

"Why? Just because looks innocent doesn't mean-"

"Do you know about the jutsu he performed the night he died?"

Frustrated that she was interrupted, she shook her head violently.

"The jutsu was a very powerful, unimaginably powerful. During the Third Shinobi World War, all ninjas feared this jutsu. Although this jutsu can bring victory in an instant, the performer has to pay a terrible price for it."

Sakura nodded. "Death. But Naruto is the number one unexpected ninja-"

"If you understand this jutsu even more, you will realize that even the unexpected cannot survive." Kakashi interrupted again.

"This technique is an ancient jutsu passed down by a clan. The ancestor of the clan had been interested in the formation of whirlpools, so he studied about it and invented a jutsu to imitate the currents of the natural phenomena. Because the jutsu meddles with nature, it needs an extremely huge amount of chakra to be performed, and only one clan possesses the chakra amount needed to perform it." Kakashi paused, "The clan, was known as the Uzumaki clan, from the former Land of Whirlpool which is destroyed by Konoha, now known as the Land of Waves."

Sakura was flummoxed. Hundreds of questions erupted inside her. She didn't know which she should ask first. "I thought Naruto has the most stamina because of the fox?"

"That, only plays a minor role." replied the white fang's son. "Yamato had told me that Naruto was still able to move after the demon fox chakra took control of him. You must never underestimate a tailed beast's chakra, especially the nine-tails. The kyuubi chakra from the four-tailed transformation onward is different than before, both in terms of its quantity and character, most notably, it reeks of malice. With that kind of chakra wrapped around one's body, normally the body will be crushed within minutes. As you have noticed, Naruto's didn't, which means he had enough chakra to suppress the mass evil chakra of the beast from completely taking over him."

Although she didn't understand entirely, Sakura nodded. Before she could blame herself, however, another question popped up. "How did Naruto learn the jutsu? I thought he didn't have any living relatives, or else he'll be adopted, won't he?"

"I supposed that Jiraiya carried on the task of his mother to teach him the hand seals and everything on their training trip. Jiraiya did know his parents, after all." Upon hearing this, the pink-haired kunoichi realized that she knew embarrassingly little about Naruto.

"Now, basically, the jutsu is about summoning the underground water to the surface of the earth. Especially those near the magma layer."

"So the water heated by magma burst to the surface, and what?"

"As the surrounding water gathered around the opening, the earth crust that separates the water from magma became weaker due to the weight, and when it breaks, the water drains back into the hole, which goes all the way to the magma layer. See what I mean? This is how a single Uzumaki ninja take down a whole army. If the enemy did escape the fate of being dragged down, they can't stop the boiling water from scorching themselves."

"But if this is so, then why didn't the magma erupt like a volcano after the water's gone?"

"The water, as it drained back, it erodes the earth around it and covers the hole, making a whirlpool like pattern over the opening." After all the explanation, Sakura wondered if Kakashi knew Naruto's parents too. As the matter of fact, he did. "By the way, the performer of the Water Release: Whirlpool Technique, or known as Suiton: Uzumaki no Jutsu, never choose to perform this jutsu unless they totally have no choice, as even they themselves can't avoid the strong boiling currents. This means they would loose all their chakra as they were often exhausted from battle before deciding to do the jutsu. Naruto would be in the same state."

"So Sakura, Naruto has long gone. Please do not pressure Naoko for answers, I knew you were close to doing so. Thanks for lending me your ears."

Kakashi stood up, and was halfway through the door when the stunned kunoichi regained her senses and asked, "Did Sai know about this?"

Kakashi turned around. "I'm making sure that the less people knew about this, the better." And he left.

At the same time, a cloaked figure hidden right outside the building left, too. But instead of a worried expression Kakashi wore, he had a satisfied smile.

******

Naoko retreated to her room after the dinner, pondering over the fact that Sakura was upset after her company at the medicine storehouse. She sat on her bed, musing. Did she said anything that upset her? Everything was fine until they were going to leave, when Sakura's attitude suddenly turned 180 degrees. She still couldn't think of anything wrong.

******

In the Kazekage room 2 miles away, Gaara watched the old-fashioned clock hanging on the wall.

30 seconds to nine.  
29...  
28...  
27...

He tore his eyes away from it and focused on the night view outside. Among the tiny specks of light, he knew that a ninja was going to suffer. The nightly routine still worries him, although he had been performing the jutsu for five years by now. The Kazekage had avoided his (the ninja) friend's presence in Sunakagure carefully, but this time he had no choice. The instructions on how to make the antidote went missing, and they have to act fast.

5...  
4...

He held his hands ready into position.

3...  
2...  
1...

Gaara undid the Brainwashing Investigating Technique.

******

Out of the blue, Naoko's head throbbed. She slumped down on her seat, suddenly remembering everything again. She groaned. That's why Sakura was upset. She wondered how to explain to Sakura the next day. She'd better write it down, before she forget everything again when clock strike nine thirty.

**Author Note: C'mon, reviews please! I got loads of readers and only a few of them left reviews. -_-" Anything will do. Good. Bad. Just leave something after you've read my story. For those who don't have a fan fiction account, anonymous reviews are available. Just click on the button with green words below. Please ~~ I****t won't take you much time.....  
**


	8. Chapter 7: Suspected

Naoko stretched her arms as the first ray of sunlight shone into her tiny room. She was changing into her usual black robes when she suddenly noticed words forming on her wardrobe door.

She squinted her eyes and scanned the words quickly before they faded.

* * *

_Naoko,_

_Be careful of Haruno Sakura and the pale boy from Konoha. She is a close friend of mine and the pale boy is very observant, a slip and they will find out the truth. On the other hand, the white-haired guy is fine, he already knew my existence, but still, keep alert. Ditch your boyish attitude slowly, so that they won't suspect you. And don't yell dattebayo in front of them no matter what. I can't think of any way to cover up for yesterday, but I think the white-haired guy will have convinced Sakura into believing my death by now. So don't worry, act as normal as possible._

_ Naruto_** (*^* I can't get it to the right!)**_  
_

_

* * *

_Naoko sighed. Another bossy message from her hidden soul. Ever since Gaara saved her from some sort of fight where she had lost her memory, she had been receiving messages appearing at various locations within the room. This Naruto had claimed himself to be hidden within her because someone was hunting him down, and often gave her instructions to keep him hidden. If she did something too flashy like making slightly more clones then the usual amount, a message would pop up the next day as soon as she touches the object. It haven't appeared for quite some time, and she was glad about the incident which she thought was the disappearance of the soul, until now.

***Sakura***

The kunoichis were in the green house again. Due to Sakura's request, Naoko had taken her to the medical storehouse once again to inspect if there were any suitable ingredients available at the moment. As the young girl showed Sakura around the green house, Sakura paid her attention, however, not to what Naoko said, but to Naoko herself.

Sakura had other purposes than the stated one.

The member of Team 7 had decided that Kakashi's explanation wasn't convincing enough, and then she took her inner self's advice: observe her. She found that her suspect was more feminine and less loud then yesterday. Naoko also seems to have a passion for plants. She knew all the names, the uses, and what they symbolize.

Sakura didn't know if Naruto liked gardening. His apartment was simply too messy, and apparently she can't get to the balcony without tripping over some ramen cups. So she didn't bother to do so.

"There, Yarrows, the pure, sacred one," She smiled at some plants with white flowers. It took a while for Sakura to realize that Naoko was talking to her. She quickly squatted down and fussed over the plant.

"So? What do you think? Eh? Is it ready yet?" Naoko crouched beside her.

"Yeah, I think this will do the trick." She plucked several flowers. "Okay, that's all for here. Take me to the nursery."

***Naoko***

The kunoichis nearly ran through all the 2143 plants that existed in the medical storehouse before Sakura was satisfied. Naoko had gladly showed them all to the medical-nin and did not show a trace of tiredness, as the plants were like friends to her. They didn't ask her "Why haven't I seen you before?" "Who were your parents?" "How did they die?" etc. etc. But she doubt if her friends could survive the marathon. Take the former officer in charge as an example. He collapsed after he met a particularly picky medical ninja and he swore to remove all the plants in his house as soon as he is strong enough to carry the potted plants. His wife, however is a plant addict, and would rather have the plants instead of him. And _that_ caused quite a commotion. Naoko sniggered under her breath. So the man quitted his job and they decided to let the 17-year old Naoko be his successor.

At last, they proceeded to making the antidote for the rest of the morning. By the time Sakura finished giving the antidote to all the remaining patients, the clock had struck two. Naoko stomach was already grumbling in protest. She wondered what Sakura had for breakfast. Even two cups of ramen won't stand _that_ long.

As expected, the canteen was closed. Sakura apologized to Naoko who had insisted to wait for her.

"It's fine." Said Naoko who didn't think it's fine at all. She wondered why she didn't just leave the pink-haired kunoichi to the work and fill her own stomach. "I'll cook then, let's eat at my house!"

Before Sakura could consider whether to accept her invitation or not, the flaming-red headed girl dragged her to a shabby apartment.

***Sakura***

Sakura watched in amazement as Naoko prepared the lunch effortlessly, with the jade-green eyed clumsy girl as her assistant. Sakura was, although she refused to admit it, not very good at cooking, as it was always her mum who did the work. In a blink of an eye, several scrumptious Japanese dishes were ready to serve.

"Erm, did you learn these all by yourself?" asked Sakura as she put the dishes onto a little table near the kitchen. Naoko managed to get another chair for Sakura from the mess in her house. Sakura thought that if she had more possessions, her house would look like a dump site.

"Of course, who would be bothered to teach me? And I can't eat instant ramen for the rest of my life, I'd be bored to death." Naoko gulped down everything. She was really hungry, thought Sakura.

"So you like ramen too?"

"My favourite! But I can't remember where I had the good ones. There doesn't seem to be any ramen shops around Sunakagure." Naoko had finished her share. Sakura, who was halfway through hers, stared at her wide-eyed. She tried to finish hers quickly (with some difficulty as Naoko kept talking to her), and helped her clean up the aftermath.

***Sakura***

As Sakura waved goodbye to the cheerful kunoichi, she wondered whether she enjoyed Naoko's hospitality or not. Although she was supposed to find out her identity, Naoko had turned the 'mission' into a hang out with her. Sakura sighed. _Now_ she didn't know what to do.

Until when she reached the bottom of the stairs, and heard a scream, "GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU ORANGE LOLLIPOP!"

**Author note: New record! Two chapters a day! haha. Won't be that devoted once the school starts though. I'm trying to finish it by Monday. Anyway, REVIEWS PLEASE~~**

**P.S. How do you think about the lollipop part? I can't stop laughing but my sister said it's lame. Let me know! Reviews please!!  
**


	9. Chapter 8: Captured

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

_Orange lollipop? What is she thinking about?_ Nevertheless, Sakura decided to check on her as it seems that there was something that shouldn't be there. She hurried up the stairs when she heard a voice, a voice she hated so much.

"It's no use, I'm going to get you, and nothing can change that."

_Tobi! _She sped up. His annoying mask popped up in her mind. _His mask with orange swirls_, thought Sakura. _Naoko must be referring to the mask. Why didn't I realize it earlier!_

_Hey, wait a minute, why would Tobi want Naoko? Unless…_

"Rasenshuriken!" A bell-like screech was heard. _Naruto!_ Sakura reached the floor.

Suddenly, silence.

Sakura found herself face-to-face with the so-called orange lollipop. Naoko, or rather, Naruto, wasn't in sight.

"Hi, " Tobi greeted her with a cherish voice. He still wore his traditional Akatsuki black high collared robes with red clouds.

"How did you know –" Sakura panted, "Naoko–"

"Just confirmed it yesterday," said Tobi, leaning on the wall casually, "When you started to suspect her."

Sakura was stunned at the news.

"Ever wonder why there were poisonings in the first place? Just dump some of Sasori's remaining puppet poisons into the well and that's all. Then I stole the antidote formula. So you'd be summoned to make the antidote, and I get what I want – I'd like to see if you recognize her, or rather -" He paused nastily, "him."

"Where. Is. Naruto." Sakura asked fiercely, finally regaining her stamina after all those running.

"Well, why should I tell you? **(If you watched the manga series, you'd know that he sort of absorb his enemies and turn them into another dimension)** I'd better get going, there's a lot of sealing stuff to do-" He turned away.

"You still can't revive that ten-tails or whatever-it-is, you didn't have the eight-tails." Sakura was trying to buy some time. She can't stop him alone and she needed backup. Why didn't anybody notice the yell? It can't be that he yelled so often that nobody bothered anymore?

"As the matter of fact, I do," Tobi revealed the shocking news. "It's just that they haven't realized that 'cause they think their hiding place was safe enough. Ta-ta~"

"Hey!" Sakura tried to stop him, but he just vanished into thin air.

******

"KAKASHI!" Sakura bellowed right at his face after a furious attempt to find him. "NAOKO, NO NARUTO WAS CAUGHT – TOBI – HE SHOWED UP –"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," _How can he calm down on a situation like this!_ Sakura's inner self screamed out in panic.

Sai looked at her curiously.

"Talk slowly, ok? Now tell me what happened,"

"Naruto was caught. I saw it. Tobi showed up right after I went to his apartment. And he claimed that he already got the hachibi," Sakura is unsure whether Kakashi will believe her. He was the one who tried to convince her that Naoko wasn't Naruto. But he's the only person she can trust.

"Naruto?" Sai wondered aloud.

Sakura saw Kakashi's face paled under his mask._ He knew._

"We must inform Gaara to deactivate the jutsu immediately," commanded Kakahsi. "Come with me, both of you. I'll explain along the way."

******

Sai didn't quite understand what was going on and was struggling to keep up. Naoko was Naruto? He couldn't find a chance to ask questions himself as Sakura seemed to ask all the questions for him.

"How did Naruto escape his own jutsu?"

"Time/space no jutsu. Quite risky, but his father invented it after all." Sakura wondered who his father was. "Showed up right in front of me."

"Where?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

Sakura scowled. She knew there's no use arguing. So she pressed Kakashi for more answers.

"Why is Naruto a _girl_?"

"Security measures. He had to transform into somebody as different from him as possible. Younger, different hair colour, and probably different gender. I think that he forgot to change his eye colour." He sighed. "He went to the ninja academy all over again so he won't stand out among other sand ninjas. He also has a whole new set of water-based jutsus, Jiraiya taught him just in case he had to hide, like this time. But it's not much of a use, as deserts lack water and wind blends in just fine. I just sent him to Gaara and left everything to him."

"Is the jutsu used to protect Naruto?"

"No. The Brainwashing Investigation Technique was _used_ on Naruto, not the enemy. Sasori used this jutsu to block memories of himself in the minds of his spies so they wouldn't raise suspicions. Gaara, on the other hand used this to block memories of his past, the people around him and what he had done so that those who knew Naruto, like us won't suspect anything."

"Why would he do that?"

"If you knew who he is then you'd be acting strangely around him, and Madara would find out the truth immediately. It worked very well until now. No one knew about Naruto except me and Gaara."

"So he'd been like that for five years?" Sakura asked incredibly.

"I think Naruto had requested that Gaara deactivates the jutsu every night so that he can train on his old jutsus." Kakashi seems out of breath since he had to explain and travel at the same time.

Sakura decided to give him a rest. For the moment.

******

Gaara is experiencing a little problem. Well, maybe it wasn't that little at all.

He had deactivated the jutsu and informed the Land of Lightning about the news (the messaging hawk haven't came back since, and he hoped that the Raikage did not kill it out of rage). The tricky part came when his subordinates wasn't very happy about the fact that _their_ kazekage had hid a jinchuriki in _their_ village without _their_ knowledge. And they weren't cooperating.

Sakura was getting impatient and worried sick. And you know what happens when she gets impatient.

"Why can't we go _now_?" Sakura nearly yelled out of frustration.

"We can't just charge straight at Tobi, we'd lose the fight. We'll need strategy. Besides, with all the Akatsuki members present the sealing still needs 3 days. Tobi alone will need more than that." Said Kankurou.

Sakura glowered at him.

******

Sakura went to investigate Naruto's room. She couldn't bear to sit around and wait. As she approaches the room, she found the door left ajar and the room was messier than ever. Looks like they have been chasing around.

The pink-haired kunoichi slipped in through the door and looked around. Right in front of her is the little dining table where they just had lunch earlier that day. Both the chairs were knocked over harshly. Nearly the rest of the space was filled by, also obviously knocked over junks, like rusted weapons, torn clothes and stuff. She can't imagine why didn't Naruto bother to clean up.

There were three compartments to the left. _The first one is the kitchen, the next one is the toilet, and this one must be his room,_ she thought as she explored around the tiny space. A bed was placed around the corner, while a wardrobe and a set of study desk was positioned right next to it. Still, she found nothing.

Sakura was about to close the door leading to his room when suddenly, scribbled words emerged from the depths of the wooden material. They seemed to be jolted down in a rush. Without a second to lose, Sakura read the message.

_Akatsuki hideout cave turn left Amaterasu surround _

The words faded into nothingness.

With the message as a lead, the kunoichi ran down the stairs, and headed towards the border of the Land of Wind instead of the Kazekage room.

**Author Note: Happy 2010! Reviews please, they mean a lot to me. Anybody that wants me to keep writing please click the button with green words below!**


	10. Chapter 9: Reunions

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

Sakura panted as she made her way through the thick forests. Her photographic memory leads her all the way to the Akatsuki hideout where once the One-tailed Tanuki was sealed. _Hurry! I must get there before the sealing starts!_

She didn't know that several meters away, another figure was also heading towards the same destination.

***Naruto***

Naruto regained consciousness, but did not open his eyes, and found his hands tied up behind his back. His memory had come back but he had no idea how he got here. The last thing he remembered was his encounter with Madara as Naoko. Then suddenly he sort of absorbed him and Naruto found himself in a strange place with uneven floorings. Before he knew it, Madara came to knock him out. _He knew who I am._ He thought.

He desperately wanted to know where he is. So he took the risk and opened his eyes by a millimeter. However, he wondered if his eyes were still closed.

The surrounding was pitch dark. He still have no idea what was going on. The kyuubi host supposed that this is the sealing chamber. Fortunately laying still was everything he needed to gather Sage chakra.

***Sakura***

Sakura gasped in surprise. The hideout was exactly where she remembered. But instead of a seal on a giant rock, the entrance was surrounded by Amaterasu. The kunoichi sighed at her stupidness. She should have found a way to defeat the flames before she set off. Now she had gone too far to turn back.

However, help came at the right time.

A raven-haired ninja appeared behind Sakura.

"Sakura?"

The pink-haired kunoichi nearly screamed. Luckily, a strong hand covered her mouth just in time. She turned around and found herself looking straight into a pair of sharingans.

"Sasuke!"

***Naruto***

Suddenly, a green, circular light at the furthermost right bearing the kanji 玉 (gyoku) illuminated the surroundings. Naruto nearly gasped at what he saw. A stone statue, trice as tall as Gamabunta, was seen at the back of the cave. It has nine eyes, all was open except the largest one in the middle. A figure was standing on the rightmost finger. Naruto realized what that meant.

Before he could react, nine dragons poured out of the statue's mouth. They surrounded him and Naruto felt pain like he never felt before, even worse than when Sasuke punctured a hole in his lung. Every cell in his body was on fire, he wanted to scream but no voice came, instead light flowed from his mouth and eyes towards the statue.

The kyuubi host writhed in agony before he passed out.

******

The nine-tailed fox which was brooding behind the bars felt peculiar. Its body part seemed to melt and flow away from it, out of the cage and disappeared into nothingness.

_Am I going to leave this place for good?_ It wondered.

***Sakura***

The man standing right in front of her wasn't exactly as she remembered. Although he wore clothes similar to when she last saw him, his appearance reminded her of death. The scrawny ninja has hollowed cheeks and everything, and the most of all, his skin was heavily scorched.

"Why are you here?" His voice wasn't very healthy either.

"Naruto was caught," Sakura whispered back urgently. _Sasuke is back. _She didn't know whether to be happy or not.

"Madara?" Sasuke's voice shook with anger.

"Do you mean Tobi by that?" _Sasuke is back. _She was so glad, but Naruto was in danger.

"Yes, stand back, I can put out the Amaterasu."

***Naruto***

He found himself in a white, empty space after the darkness when he fainted. Two familiar figures stood not far away from him, beckoning him towards them. _Not another near death experience?_ thought Naruto. Nevertheless, he followed their beckoning.

Naruto nearly yelped in surprise. Standing right in front of him is the Fourth Hokage. The man with blond hair and blue eyes beamed at him. His hands were placed around the second figure's shoulder. Naruto turned his attention to the figure.

She was a woman he never seen before, yet it felt so familiar. He wondered if he was looking into a mirror as Naoko. With flaming red hair, similar almond shaped eyes, the woman had a loving expression on her face. "Oh, Naruto, look how much you have grown!" she wrapped her arms around the startled ninja.

"Mother?" Naruto wondered aloud. It must be. He thought. The hug carries a motherly love he never received, that he craved so much when he was shunned by the villagers many years ago. Naruto hugged her back. Now he knew why he chose red hair when Gaara asked him to transform.

"Let's go home, Kushina," said Minato. The woman released herself from the reunion hug and walked alongside his husband towards a faint light, with her hands clutching her son's.

***Sasuke***

The worn-out Uchiha felt blood pouring from his eyes as he strained to put out the black flames. He ignored the look of terror on Sakura's face, and immersed himself in hatred once again…

_Five years ago, a teenage ninja was struggling to escape from the sweeping currents of a whirlpool that popped up out of nowhere in a forest. The water was boiling hot, and he had tried everything to pull himself from the dangerous waters in vain. _

_A shriek was heard. "Karin!" He saw the kunoichi screaming her head off at the opposite side of the whirlpool._

"_Madara, pull me out!" He yelled. But what he got is a glare from his ancestor who was standing on dry land._

"_If you can't even escape this jutsu, then you have failed your clan. I am so disappointed of you_," _He disappeared._

"_No!" But he was gone._

_Sasuke found himself being pulled towards the centre of the whirlpool. He had to act. Fast. He summoned a giant shuriken attached with wires from a scroll with some difficulty, and hurtled it towards a tree nearby. He pulled himself away from the centre where the current was the strongest, and when he reached the edge of the whirlpool, his legs found terra firma and gave a push. A hawk was summoned and carried him away. _

"_Karin!" he yelled. But the girl was nowhere to be seen._

_Some distance away, a ninja in orange disappeared too, thinking that Madara will save Sasuke and assume that the kyuubi host is dead. But he didn't expect everything to go the opposite way with Sasuke ending up as a wanderer for the next five years._


	11. Chapter 10: Another Reunion

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story except Naoko (do I?)**

***Sakura***

Sakura watched anxiously as Sasuke gradually put out Amaterasu with his Mangekyou Sharingan. Finally, the last flame was gone.

"Quick!" She whispered as she rushed towards the unguarded entrance, pulling Sasuke along with her. He didn't object, which means that Madara must have thought that Amaterasu was a good enough shield.

But as they walked into the depth of the cave, another problem emerged.

They reached a chamber which served as a junction for three other caves. A familiar groan was heard from the cave on their right while the two others stayed quiet.

"Come on," Sasuke pulled her towards the cave, but Sakura held back.

"But Naruto said to turn left, he left a message after he was caught," protested Sakura.

"Fine, I'll check," He activated his sharingan again after a short rest he provided for his eyes and found that Sakura was right. Both the caves to the right and the centre were filled with chakra traps, but the cave to the left was filled with jinchuuriki chakras.

"So clever of him, Madara must have let slip something," Sasuke leaded Sakura towards the sealing chamber.

***Madara***

The lone Akatsuki member stood on the left thumb of the giant hand in front of Pain's stone statue, concentrating on sealing the last of the tailed-beasts. _Luckily the statue did not disappear after his summon, _he thought. Although standing there in one's actual body is not very safe as it makes him an easy target, Madara has no choice. Without the other Akatsuki members's help, he had to increase the chakra concentrated by being present on the statue himself. The last time he sealed the hachibi it took a whole boring week.

However, something felt not right as the kyuubi's chakra washed over him. It wasn't as powerful as he remembered. Furthermore it felt as though the Yin chakra is absent.

Did the Fourth Hokage divide the chakra into Yin and Yang before he sealed them separately? It would be more troublesome if he had to extract the nine-tails _twice_. _You and your father expertise in meddling up my plans,_ groaned the Uchiha as he watched the host floating in the middle of the chamber.

***Sakura***

Both Sasuke and Sakura were pressing themselves flat on the wall. Another turn and they would face the source of the light. Together, they peered into the chamber.

Sakura found herself looking straight at a nine-eyed giant stone statue. She looked to the right, and saw a circular green light shone on the left thumb of a pair of hands in front of the statue.

Sasuke nudged her. He pointed towards something floating in the middle of the chamber.

Sakura turned her gaze to the object, and hoped she didn't.

The comrade they have been searching was suspended in mid-air, his shoulder length blond hair drooped helplessly, and the most horrible of all, a stream of light was pouring from his mouth to the mouth of the statue.

The sealing has started.

******

As both the ninja and the kunoichi thought desperately for a plan, one of the unnoticed stone in the cave eavesdropped on them. He hoped that the original will not scare them out of their wits, as even the smallest yelp would be echoed throughout the cave, and their position would be found out. He shifted uneasily as the third figure closed up on them. He and the others will be ready to spring into action in case they showed signs of wanting to yell or attack. _Oh well, here goes nothing…_

******

As he approached the two ninjas from behind, the figure tried to make a little noise so that his footsteps would be heard. He didn't want them to be too surprised at his appearance. But they seemed to be very deep in conservation and didn't notice him.

When he was near enough however, he was the one who was shocked.

"Sasuke?" he said incredibly.

Sure enough, they jolted, but did not do anything out of surprise. Both of them turned around, and found themselves face to face with Naruto.

"What the-"

"Shh, we don't want anyone to hear us," he approached them even more.

Sasuke turned to the figure floating in the chamber, and the figure standing right in front of them. He grinned.

"Yeah, clones." Naruto, reading his friend's reaction, replied. "But it won't hold him for more than 2 days."

"How did you make one without him noticing?"

"Well, I casted a genjutsu on that bastard so he can't see or sense any chakra other than my unconscious self, even if he uses his sharingan." Sasuke wondered when did Naruto learn such genjutsu. The kyubi host didn't bother to tell him that it was the power Itachi gave him. "But it won't work if lights came up and he realizes I wasn't there. So I made a clone in place before he started sealing and ran for it. He tied my hands up but forgot the fingers." He chuckled. "Unfortunately I can't find a route out without Amaterasu blocking the way so I came back instead. Made more clones and turned into rocks."

"Ran like a chook, didn't you," Sasuke smirked. Naruto scowled.

"Then why didn't I sense your chakra?" asked the Uchiha.

"The genjutsu works on anyone that came into this cave. And talking about chakras, why didn't you hide yours? If it wasn't for my genjutsu Madara'd notice you immediately," He looked at both of them. Suddenly, he realized that Sakura kept silent from the beginning. She just stared at him.

"Erm, Sakura? Are you all right?" he hoped he won't have to face another one of the Sakura-tempers in this situation.

"All right? We were worried sick of you and you just brag about why-didn't-we-hide-our-chakra." _Oh no,_ thought Naruto.

As expected, a blow landed on him. He doubled over in pain, hoping the second blow won't be as heavy as the first. However, the kunoichi lifted him up and put her arms around him.

"I'm just glad you're alive," Sakura broke into sobs.

Naruto stood rooted to the spot. He remembered that he got the same thing from Sakura after he defeated Pain.

He put his arm around the kunoichi and hugged back.

**Author Note: Sorry about the wait. Ideas popped up and the story ended up longer than I expected. Anyway, reviews please~~~ Less than 1% of my readers reviewed...**


	12. Chapter 11: Endless Troubles

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Author Note: Sorry for the wait! School has started and I can't find time to write between all those schoolwork and activities! T_T **

"Hey, how old are you now, Naruto? You looked old enough to be our friend" Asked Kushina curiously when she found out that the ninja is already slightly taller than her.

"Going to be Twenty-one! What about you?"

"Twenty-seven!" the kunoichi replied with a huge grin.

Minato was going to speak when Kushina interrupted, "You won't need to tell him about _you_, he'd read all about you in his history lesson,"

"That's true, but I never paid attention,"

Both the mother and the son's laughter echoed throughout the space, leaving Minato looking defeated.

Back at the Kazekage room, the meeting hit a dead end. No one wants to risk their life for the Jinchuriki although he had saved Gaara from the same evil clutches.

Suddenly, a ninja piped up, "Why isn't Naoko here? She'll be lots of help."

An idea struck the Kazekage's mind, "Naoko was abducted along with Naruto when she tried to protect him. But-"

"_What?_"

Gaara didn't need to put on a show anymore. The phrase was enough.

"Why would anyone abduct her?"

"We'll bring her back, Kazekage, tell us the plan!"

"Yeah! Tell us the plan!"

"She's more worth saving than that jinchuriki anyway."

Nearly all ninjas looked eager to help.

Kakashi sighed. _Looks like Naoko was too attractive for her own good. _

Sasuke looked at his former teammates reproachfully, "Hey, Valentine's over, we need to get going!"

Naruto let go of the hug embarrassedly and peered back into the chamber. Sakura was trying to control her sobs without any success.

"Erm, look, I got two clones disguised as rocks between the hand and the statue, so they're right behind Madara." He motioned to the source of the trouble. "What do you say, should we take him down?"

"I don't know about that," The trio was absorbed in their own thoughts, trying to think of a plan.

Sakura looked at the statue, and suddenly came up with an idea, "I'd say it's better to smash the hand first, cause we don't know what will happen if the statue's damaged; the tailed beasts might be released."

"You'll do it then," Sasuke replied. "You got the strength."

"Big problem, how can you get there without him noticing?" the blonde pointed out.

"I remember that Kakashi saying that you can do a Time/Space no Jutsu. Why can't you take me there?" The kunoichi questioned her teammate

Naruto looked uneasy, "Too risky, I never brought another person with me, and I can't guarantee that we'll end up at the right place and time,"

"Just go on, I'll take the risk,"

"Fine then," he returned from the gaze, and turned to Sasuke, "Erm, in case something go wrong one of my clones will tell you," He motioned at the rocks.

"Hey, wait a minute, how will they know if something was wrong?"

"My clones link with each other," Sakura looked perplexed, "Well, at least mine does. The one acting as a decoy was meeting my parents now," he grinned.

Suddenly the grin disappeared. Naruto stared blankly into the distance, s_omething was not right_, "What's wrong? Tell us," nudged Sakura angrily.

_A family of three was walking towards the faint light, gossiping happily like a couple of old friends who had lost contact for years. _

"_Tell me about yourself, mum."_

Both his teammates watched anxiously as Naruto furrowed his brows in concentration as if reading something invisible. _Hey, you idiot, don't follow them! I don't want a part of my mind to be stucked in the afterlife! _

But he kept on walking.

_Crap, the sealing must have cut off our communication!_

"Time's running out, we've got to stop the sealing, quick!" he didn't realize that he had spoke just in time as the impatient kunoichi was going to land a punch on his head. Sakura stopped in her tracks when he offered his arm to her, "Hold on to me," Sakura held to his arm (rather hesitantly as Sasuke was looking), a few hand seals were performed and with a jolt, they were gone.

Sasuke observed the surroundings and decided to place a seal around it.

_He will be my trapped rat… _He grinned at the thought

The moment the jutsu was finished, the scene in front of her changed suddenly from a narrow passage to the space between the statue and the hand. She met Naruto's urgent stare and immediately focused every fibre in her body for the act.

Not a second too soon.

Madara had just noticed some sort of movement behind him when he suddenly found himself in the mid-air. He watched in horror as what he was standing on crumbled before him. The chakra won't be suspending him for long, and when the connection broke, he'll have to start all over again. _Someone managed to pass my barrier, but who?_

He turned around sharply to find his gaze meeting Sakura's, and shuddered to see the fire behind her attractive emerald eyes. _Impossible, _he longed to yell out in disbelief, however he pushed that urge away,_ no time for tantrums, escaping is the important matter here_

If he edged his head a bit more, his eye would widen with shock, not because of the eerie aura surrounding a figure who was sighing with relief, but by his mere presence.

_Pity I have to abort now, when I'm so near to completion, _thought Madara as he leaped out of harm's way again and again, thus severing the bond with the Demonic Statue. _But I can't risk getting caught. They can't do anything about the tailed beast anyway._ He reached for what he thought as the last of the jinchuriki._ Only the descants of __Sage of the Six Paths can…_

Something flashed.

His outstretched hand detached from his arm with tremendous pain he had not felt for decades. Only then he realized that the drastically increased humidity have nothing to do with the weather.

"What the-" His words were cut short in his attempt to avoid a rasengan with surprising diameter forming out of nowhere. He would have been cut into half if it wasn't for the tricks he still have up his sleeves.

_The girl masked her chakra with water and spread it into the atmosphere! Forming rasengan out of them was certainly unexpected! _Looks like he have been underestimating his opponents.

_But wait, she'll need concentration and time, and rasengan isn't her sort of move. That leaves…_

The space recently occupied by the battered ninja was empty.

_Damn it! I'll have to teleport right away! _"Looks like our game ends here." Although the circumstances would not tolerate another delay, Madara couldn't help bidding farewell. He focused, ignoring the kunoichi's vain attempt to secure him and Naruto's insulting yells.

Nothing happened.

"Looks like our game had just started," a cold mocking voice echoed around the vastness of the cave.

_Not another trouble to be added to my endless list. _He groaned_._

**Thanks for the encouragement! The story couldn't go on without yours! :)**_  
_


	13. Epilogue

**Last Disclaimer: Same as before**

Sakura yawned tiredly. It had been a busy day finishing the mountain of paper work Tsunade had left for her while she went off celebrating Naruto's return with the villagers. After all, there's loads of arrangements to be done for the presumably dead ninja to be an official (not to mention hyperactive) Konoha citizen again. However instead of being grumpy with the unfair treatment she had received the girl couldn't feel more cheerful. Team 7 was whole again, with Sasuke exempted from execution as a gesture of appreciation for helping the Sand ninjas (who arrived just in time to clean up the aftermath) in capturing the public enemy number 1 (Sai felt a bit left out) and all of them were engaged (except Sai, and that made him feel more left out). Naruto didn't have much choice, though, as Hiashi couldn't bear another moment seeing his heiress as spinster and urged them to- well, you know- and Naruto decided that it would be wiser to follow as told.

The kunoichi stared out of the window while twiddling her brush absent-mindedly, feasting her eyes on the festive mood on the decorated streets. _There he is. _She smiled to herself. The young ninja's fair spiky hair and stark orange clothes stood out in contrast with Hinata's dark flowing hair that draped over his shoulders. Somehow he had managed to slip away from the crowd to spend some time alone with his wife-to-be, stroking her hair repeatedly while gazing at the magnificent sunset on the spine of a roof. Sakura heaved a sigh. She hoped his husband-to-be can be _that_ romantic. All Sasuke could manage was to sit awkwardly beside the girl without touching any part of her.

"What's with all this sighing?" A booming voice nearly knocked Sakura out of her chair with fright and she did what she always does instinctively when she gets a shock – slapping. The towering figure cried out in pain.

Sakura fought her urge to give him the second slap when her vision settled and found out who the fortunate guy was. She stared daggers at him instead.

Naruto rubbed his cheek which now has an angry red hand mark on it. "I'm glad I'm not engaged to _you_ – Sasuke'll have to endure much slapping for the rest of his life." His painful expression changed into a gloat at the thought.

Sakura knew that his first sentence was as false as Sai's smile, and it still pained her to know that he gave up his hope to marry her so that she could pursue her love without being in a dilemma. Of course she could simply dump him and carry on with Sasuke, but she knew it would hurt him and that's the last thing she wanted.

She shook her head free of the emotions welling up in her and did her best to keep a straight face.

"Sasuke never scares me out of my wits, and it seems that you can't go back to the celebration for a while. Hinata will be suspicious," Although the kunoichi pouted when Naruto offered his hand to help her up, she accepted it anyway.

"Don't you see, I'm a clone. You would have noticed it straight away if your slap is harder, which I'm glad it's not – you'll have to get to your feet yourself by then," he laughed "And Hinata's not the jealous type, her overprotective father is, though"

Sakura returned her gaze to the golden globe which is sinking fast below the horizon, which the blond followed suit and immediately lost himself in thoughts. She peered sideways to see his handsome face illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun, with a visible slap mark on it.

Naruto's relationship with her may not turn out as he hoped, but they will always be close friends. Always.

**The End**

**Author note: Finally, the story completes! **

**Erhm apologies for those who feel wretched at the ending. As you can see, the storyline goes along with my imagination that might not suit everybody's taste. Note that this is a fanfiction, and there's no need to stick completely to reality. "Unleash your imagination!" the website says, and that's what I did. If I change the plot to satisfy my readers the story will never be settled with one ending. I believe that Harry/Hermione fans were equally upset when J.K. Rowling decided that Harry would end up with Ginny. sigh~**

**You see, closest relationship does not neccessarily have to happen only between husband and wife. Friendship and love are totally different matters, and there are those whose friends are more precious then their lover. The same concept applies between Bella and Jacob (if you read Twilight). Yeah it's a hasty ending, but honestly, if it wasn't for my sister's review the story wouldn't reach an end at all. **

**I don't mind if the hits go down, I wrote this story just to share my ideas, not for popularity or anything. It isn't as if google will put an advertisment in my story if so. But bear in mind that your support is what keeps me going, so thanks a lot, and again, sorry.**

***frowns* since this ending caused quite an uproar I think I will consider rewriting it. Not now though.  
**


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